Sharks at Ducks preview
San Jose seeks fifth consecutive victory; Anaheim tries to end four-game winless streak
by Dan Arritt / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
SHARKS (8-10-1) at DUCKS (9-8-2)
10 p.m. ET; KCOP-13, NBCSCA, NHL.TV
The Game
The San Jose Sharks will try for their season-long fifth straight win when they visit the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Thursday.
Goalie Martin Jones is expected to start for the Sharks, who have won four straight following a five-game losing streak. Jones has been in goal throughout San Jose's winning streak with a 2.69 goals-against average and .885 goals-against average.
The Ducks look to end a season-long four-game winless streak (0-2-2), outscored 17-9, after going 3-1-0 in their previous four.
Goalie John Gibson is expected to start; he's 2-6-0 with a 3.54 GAA and .897 save percentage in his past eight starts.
Players to watch
Sharks forward Timo Meier, who has seven points (three goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak, had four points (three goals, one assist) in four games against Anaheim last season.
Ducks center Adam Henrique, who has four assists in a three-game point streak, had four points (two goals, two assists) in four games against San Jose last season.
They said it
"When we stick to what we do best, the results follow." -- Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic
"When you're ahead in hockey games, in this league, we have to get the puck in deep, all the way deep. Not to the top of the circles. It's got to go all the way in." -- Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf
Sharks projected lineup
Evander Kane -- Logan Couture -- Kevin Labanc
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Barclay Goodrow
Marcus Sorensen -- Joe Thornton -- Patrick Marleau
Lukas Radil -- Dylan Gambrell -- Melker Karlsson
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Erik Karlsson
Brenden Dillon -- Dalton Prout
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched: Tim Heed, Noah Gregor
Injured: Mario Ferraro (undisclosed)
Ducks projected lineup
Nick Ritchie -- Ryan Getzlaf -- Ondrej Kase
Rickard Rakell -- Adam Henrique -- Jakob Silfverberg
Max Jones -- Sam Steel -- Troy Terry
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Derek Grant -- Carter Rowney
Jacob Larsson -- Cam Fowler
Josh Mahura -- Erik Gudbranson
Brendan Guhle -- Korbinian Holzer
John Gibson
Ryan Miller
Scratched: Devin Shore, Michael Del Zotto
Injured: Josh Manson (lower body), Hampus Lindholm (lower body)
Status report
The Sharks recalled Prout on Thursday following a conditioning assignment with San Jose of the American Hockey League. Prout sustained an upper-body injury in the season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 3.
Stat pack
Hertl has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a four-game goal/point streak. ... The Ducks are playing the 1,000th home game in its history; they are 537-329-133 in Anaheim.